The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for February 24, 2012

Is President Obama a Christian? How you answer that question sheds light on how you deal with people.  When Rev. Franklin Graham appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe, he was asked if he thought President Obama is a Christian. Graham said, “You have to ask him…  He has said he’s a Christian, so I just have to assume that he is.” 

Having myself been a minister for almost 40 years, his answer did not raise my eyebrows.  We were taught if someone presents himself to you as a Christian, you take him/her at face value.  Now if something in that person’s conduct is really, really inconsistent with the Bible, you should talk that through but the inconsistency doesn’t mean the person is not a Christian.  

Later on CNN Rev. Graham was pressed. “The president has said he’s a Christian,” he repeated, “and we’ll just leave it at that.  Only God knows the heart of all these candidates.” (Jonathon Moorman, Christian Post, February 23) There’s the mystery of how God works. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “The Lord does not look at the things human beings look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  Might that be a reason Jesus gave us the wisdom of the Golden Rule?

No Minutes next week.  Diane and I will be taking some time off.

 

The Meyer Minute for February 23, 2012

"I heard a story once of a husband and wife hopelessly lost in a cave," wrote Barbara Hurd in "The Yale Review." After days had passed and they had given up hope of rescue, they began to confide in each other as they had never done. They revealed extramarital affairs, the disdain each felt for the other's naivete...On and on they went, unwrapping secrets, lifting layers of off their life together.

"Of course, they were rescued. Hauled out of the labyrinth and returned to their kitchen, where they could no longer stand the sight of each other. Knowing more than they could bear, they divorced, went their separate ways."

Let Lent be your time in the cave with God. Tell him all your secrets. When you come out, He won't divorce you. Nothing "will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).

Lord, bless my Lenten time with You. Amen.

The Meyer Minute for February 22, 2012

Ash Wednesday, Lent begins. “Jesus, I will ponder now on Thy holy passion.”  Or not.  I recall a woman who said, “It was nice that Jesus died for sins but He didn’t have to do it for me.”

From Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “One extreme thing must be said.  To forego self-conceit…means, in all soberness and without mincing the matter, to consider oneself the greatest of sinners.  This arouses all the resistance of the natural man, but also that of the self-confident Christian.  It sounds like an exaggeration, like an untruth.  Yet even Paul said of himself that he was the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15); he said this specifically at the point where he was speaking of his service as an apostle.  If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all.  My sin is of necessity the worst, the most grievous, the most reprehensible.”  (Life Together, 96)

Martin Luther wrote, “As soon as God’s Word shoots up and spreads through you, the devil persecutes you.” (John Kleinig, “What Makes a Theologian,” 35)  If you’re going to be honest to God about your sin, the devil will be close by.

 

The Meyer Minute for February 21, 2012

Managing your moods is no small part of the art of living.  There are healthy ways to manage your mood, like the advice from the song in “Hello, Dolly,” “Put on your Sunday clothes there’s lots of world out there.”   Music affects mood too. If I’m in a blue jeans mood, I turn to Bluegrass.  There are also dangerous ways to alter your mood, like drugs and alcohol.  Understanding and managing your moods is also an important part of maturing your relationship with God.  

In a nation dedicated to “the pursuit of happiness,” it sounds terrible to say we shouldn’t always be happy but it’s very biblical.  Read the Gospels, Jesus didn’t always have a smile plastered on His face.  Dr. C.F.W. Walther wrote, “Do not forget that the blessedness of Christians does not consist in pleasant feelings, but in their assurance that in spite of the bitterest feelings imaginable they are accepted with God and in their dying hour will be received into heaven.  That is indeed great blessedness.”  (Law and Gospel, 312)

Tomorrow the church shifts from Christmas and Epiphany to Lent.  The “alleluias” are not sung.  We put ourselves into a pensive mood.  Christ suffered for us.  If you are pursing eternal happiness, put on the mood of repentance.

 

 

The Meyer Minute for February 20, 2012

Do you watch “American Idol?”  About 9% of Americans do, and that makes it a huge hit by today’s standards.  Remember “The Beverly Hillbillies?”  In 1963 that show was viewed by 35% of American households.  That’s one of many comparisons between the early 60’s and today from Charles Murray’s new book “Coming Apart.”  35% for the “Hillbillies;” 9% for “American Idol.”  Modern media is fragmented; little is held in common; individual choice rules.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, are you discerning about sources of information?  If so, do you discriminate what you let into your mind and what you shut out?  A crude example is pornography.  Discernment says, “This is not what I as a Christian should take in” and discrimination says, “I won’t give it any consideration.”  Back in the 60’s church-going and Bible-reading strongly influenced our common reception of information from the few media sources we had.  But because today’s media is numerous, individualized and private, church-going and Bible-reading aren’t automatic safeguards against spiritually damaging information.  Jesus lays discernment and discrimination on us, His modern followers.  “His sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” (John 10:4-5) 

 

 

The Meyer Minute for February 17, 2012

Sunday's Gospel...the Transfiguration.  You're in the story, you really are.  "Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone." You find yourself in times and places when you wonder, where is Jesus leading me?

 "There He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became dazzling white..." You've experienced the glory...and someday will see the glory with your eyes.  "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6). 

 "Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them and a voice came from the cloud...."  God had told Moses, "No one may see Me and live," and so He comes in a cloud to spare the lives of Peter, James and John.  (Exodus 33:20) You've not seen God.  Kind to us sinners, He descends upon us unseen but God is heard.  "A voice came from the cloud, 'This is my Son, whom I love.  Listen to Him.'" You do listen.  You're listening now.  (Mark 9:2-9)

 Sometimes we wonder, what would it be like to live in Bible times?  You are.  You are. 

 

The Meyer Minute for February 16, 2012

I wrote this “Minute” while sitting in a meeting.  Most of you know how to pull this off, how to be in a meeting but have your mind on other things.  You try to get a seat in the back, get your smart phone or tablet out and get to your work, but every now and then do something to give the impression you’re engaged in the meeting.   And we’ve all done religious multi-tasking during Sunday sermons, looking engaged but planning out the week, paying the bills, and the like.

Just a second…  OK, I’m back.  The speaker was looking right at me and I had to look back, had to look like I’m really into it.

Multi-tasking is a way to get a lot of work done but it’s addictive and not always good.  This addiction makes it harder to keep focused during prayer.  Prayer is like a meeting.  “Our Father who art in heaven,” you say and the meeting is opened, you and your God, but the prayer goes on and your mind inevitably goes off to other things.  When the meeting adjourns, “Amen,” you haven’t accomplished the purpose of that meeting, an intimate, renewing time with your Father and your Savior.  Whose loss?  He’s looking your way! 

 

The Meyer Minute for February 15, 2012

Deep, deep down I’ve got this feeling that I’m almost always right.  For example, if my boss asks me to account for something I’ve done, I’ve got an answer.  Sometimes survival instincts tell me to keep my mouth shut, but that’s only a facade.  True, there are a few minutes on Sunday morning when I set my self-justification aside, in the confession and absolution part of the church service.  At that time I put my head down and say what a miserable sinner I am.  “You are forgiven” come the expected words from the ritual, my head pops up and my deep-seated instinct again takes control.  Are all people like this? 

I suspect so. The most basic question the Bible puts to us is who do you love and trust above all else?  In other words, who is your God?  Is it you or the one who created and judges you?  “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind.” (Jeremiah 17:10)  A person in recovery strives to get past self-justification.  I heard of a man whose job involved getting complaints.  He often responded briefly and to the point, “You might be right.”  Truthful, too.   “Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!” (Psalm 19:13)  

 

The Meyer Minute for February 14, 2012

Think about it, Valentine’s Day hype may be one of the cruelest things our culture does.  Perhaps you’ve failed in love, separated or divorced.  Perhaps you’re alone with no prospects.  Perhaps you’ve been widowed or lost a child.  All the hype about Valentine’s Day leaves you feeling like you’re standing on the cold, heartless outside.  Inside are chocolates and roses and kisses and warmth, but outside it’s cruel…and that’s where many of us are.

“When Bob met Alicia, he…was so infatuated with her that he thought his life’s journey for happiness was over.  He was wrong.  ‘Alicia and I were very much in love,’ Bob confirmed.  ‘Yet the more we talked, the more we realized that we were still missing something in our lives.’”  They happened to hear a sermon that spoke straight to their hearts.  It proved to be the beginning of their coming in, not simply coming into that church but coming into a warm, satisfying experience of love.  (Thom S. Rainer, “Surprising Insights,” 209-210).

If Valentine’s hype has Cupid’s arrow carving a painful, empty spot in your heart, here’s a prayer that someone will care enough to send you the very best…and that you’ll take to heart winsome words about God’s warm love for you.

 

The Meyer Minute for February 13, 2012

Abraham Lincoln was born in Harding County, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809. I'm no Lincoln scholar but best I can tell he was a "still waters run deep" person. And deep down in his still waters ran the Bible.

James Humes passes along this story. "At a White House reception where the guests were ushered past the President and not allowed to come too close, an old man, disappointed at not having shaken hands with the President, waved his hat and called out, 'Mr. President, I'm from up in New York State where we believe that God Almighty and Abraham Lincoln are going to save our country.' Hearing that remark, Lincoln smiled and nodded. 'My friend,' he said, 'you're half right.'" (p. 130)

Here's a second story from the Humes book, "The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln." "During the Civil War, a delegation of Methodist clergymen called on the White House. The spokesman of the group intoned, 'Mr. President, our cause will prevail, because the Lord is on our side.' 'Gentlemen, the question we should always ask ourselves is: 'are we on His side?'" (p. 155)

In our day we go to the Christian bookstore and pick up sound-byte books to get us through life. Lincoln would probably offer a wry smile. How deep do your waters run?